title: Validation of a parental questionnaire to identify atopic dermatitis in a population-based sample of children up to 2 years of age.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Validated eczema questionnaires have been available for schoolchildren only, but the incidence of atopic dermatitis (AD) is highest during infancy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To validate a parental questionnaire to identify AD in children up to 2 years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Parents of 476 children answered a written questionnaire prior to an examination by a physician. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and test-retest reliability of the questionnaire were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 245 (51%) girls and 231 (49%) boys, aged 1-24 months, with and without physician-diagnosed AD participated. Seventy-one children (15%) had physician-diagnosed AD. Validation of the questionnaire by comparisons with physicians' diagnoses showed a sensitivity of 0.87 (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.77-0.94) and a specificity of 0.98 (95% CI, 0.96-0.99). The positive predictive value was 0.90 (95% CI, 0.80-0.96) and the negative predictive value was 0.98 (95% CI, 0.96-0.99).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The questionnaire identified AD in children aged 0-2 years with high accuracy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden. laura.vonkobyletzki@liv.se
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: von Kobyletzki
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berner
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Carlstedt
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasselgren
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Bornehag
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Svensson
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires